Mercurial Sunset
by Illario Kylarone
Summary: Something hasn't sat well with Pyrrha Nikos for a long time. When she goes to figure out why, she bites off just a bit more than she can chew. And the only one that doesn't seem to know that, is her.
1. Distracted

Distracted. That was the best way to describe Pyrrha Nikos. She hadn't been paying attention in classes in what felt like eons, she had only nominally ben part of conversations between her teammates, and she had been spending more and more time to herself as a result. Ever since that sparring match against that silver-haired student from Haven…Mercury, she remembered his name was. That match hadn't left her mind since it ended so abruptly. There was no doubt in her mind that he had known what he was doing. Not many people could hold their own against her; and yet he not only held his own, but he disarmed her. And then to simply forfeit like he did….something didn't sit well with her about all of this. She needed answers.

So focused on her train of thought, Pyrrha was lost to the world as the bell rang to signal the end of another of Professor Port's lectures. Stranger still, she remained largely unresponsive until her partner spoke up, tapping her on the shoulder. "Pyrrha? Come on, class is over."

Jolting from her reverie, the red-head nodded, rising to her feet. "Right. Sorry, I suppose I'm jus a bit…-"

"Distracted," Jaune finished her sentence for her as he offered her bag. "Yeah, I've noticed. Is everything okay?"

Taking the bag with a grateful nod, she paused her speech a moment. "I'm fine. It's just that sparring match a few days ago, do you remember it?"

Another nod, this time from Jaune. "Yeah. The guy with silver hair, right? Wasn't his name…-"

"Mercury. Tell me. Did anything seem…off, about our fight to you?"

The two headed for the classroom door as he thought about her question. "A bit. It looked kinda like he was holding back, but from where I was sitting I didn't get a good look."

A soft hum of agreement answered him. "It felt like it too. I just wish I knew why."

"Is that what's gotten you so distracted lately?"

A nod. "I've been looking for him every chance I get. I need to get to the bottom of this."

This assertion made Jaune cock an eyebrow. "Pyrrha, are you sure that's a good idea?"

Pyrrha shrugged, turning down the hallway to their dorm. "It's the only idea I have. If I don't figure this out, I'm going to go crazy."

The blond chewed on the inside of his lip a moment, debating on how to phrase what he wanted to say. "I dunno, Pyrrha. There's just something about him that rubs me the wrong way. He's kinda skeevy, honestly."

A soft, reassuring smile flickered over painted lips as she reached a gentle hand to pat her partner on the shoulder. "Your concerns have been noted, but I can handle myself."

A sigh greeted that. "I know you can. Can't I show a little worry for my partner? You certainly do it enough for me."

That comment managed to get a small giggle from the girl. "True." Their conversation was cut short by another red-head bounding up to them, followed shortly by her partner. Nora's chipper disposition did wonders to distract Jaune from the problem at hand, but Pyrrha kept finding her mind wandering back to that fight; replaying it over and over in her mind, trying to figure out what he was playing at. She had to figure out what was going on.

And to do that, she needed to find Mercury.


	2. Whatever

Midafternoon gold poured lazily over the rooftops of the academy, dripping from the eaves and trickling in through windows and open doorways. It was days like this that made studying and classes all but impossible to pay any kind of mind to. Many would rather be outside enjoying the warmth, or lazing around in their rooms not doing anything. Teachers and students all were glad when the final class let out, and everyone went their separate ways. Most of team JNPR returned to their dorm room, but Pyrrha had other things on her mind. She still needed to find Mercury and figure out what was going on.

So she found herself wandering the campus. Eventually she found herself and her quarry in the library. He was in one of the corners, away from most others and probably giving the librarian fits. His chair was propped back on two legs with his feet resting rather comfortably on the table before him. One hand was behind his head as a makeshift headrest, and in the other was held a comic. His eyes lazily scanned over the pages, not really reading its contents before continuing.

As she approached, she spoke. "Mercury?"

Steel eyes flickered from the pages of the comic, but didn't really see her. "Who's asking?"

"Pyrrha."

He paused a moment. "The girl from the sparring match," he muttered to himself. "Right." Dog-earing the page of his comic, he set it in his lap, turning to look at her more directly now. "Alright, you've got my attention. Now, I'm not one to toot my own horn, but that's more than most people get."

The red-head had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. She needed him to be receptive to her. "The sparring match is actually why I'm here."

"I don't see why," he replied plainly. "Surely it wasn't that impressive of a match."

Slender arms folded over her frame as she regarded him. "Only because you gave up. You were holding back. Why?"

That earned her a raised eyebrow. "What makes you think I held back?"

"You're kidding, right? Not many people could keep up with me, let alone manage to disarm me. And you did it all without batting an eye."

"Well, if that's what it looked like then sure, I can live with that. Mind if I get that on tape?"

A frown creased her brow. There had to be more to this, she just had to get it out of him. If she could just… "Care to par again sometime?"

"Not sure that would be healthy." It was Pyrrha's turn to quirk a brow, but Mercury continued before she could speak. "Besides, what would a world-class fighter want with such a lowly person as myself?"

The sheer amount of venom in his voice surprised her almost as much as the reflection of it in his usually impassive gaze. "You're a good fighter. I'd like to see how you fight without forfeiting."

He scoffed, snatching his comic back up and opening it. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."

Taken aback, Pyrrha tipped her head to one side. "Did I hit a sore spot? I didn't mean to offend."

"Like I said," he snapped back. "Whatever."

She winced slightly at his tone. "What's wrong?"

Mercury let out an irritated breath, looking back to her. "Not exactly used to people like you coming down from your ivory towers to slum it up with people like me, that's all. I've told you already, there's no point to us sparring. Foregone conclusion, etcetera etcetera. Now, can I go back to my comic?"

His reaction surprised her. She had seen plenty of people jealous and reverent, and she had always guessed there might be some angry about the pedestal she had been placed on; but this was her first time seeing that anger in person. "I don't think it would be, but I'm not going to press the issue." Pushing herself from the table, she flashed him a small smile. "I'll get out of your hair, but maybe I'll see you around, yeah?"

A short pause followed her words, almost like he hadn't expected that of her. When next he spoke, his voice was low, still irritable but not antagonistic. "Yeah, whatever."

With that, she turned and headed back into the warmth afforded by the slowly waning daylight. He hadn't been what she had expected, that was for sure. And something about the way he spoke… she wanted to find out more. Making a mental note to find and talk to him again soon, she made her way back to the noise of her dorm room. The day had been rather enlightening all around.


	3. Impossible

The day following that rather intriguing conversation found Pyrrha out at the training field. The late morning sun washed over her and glinted off her battle gear as she stepped from the changing room. A gentle breeze lifted leaves from their sleep, sending them rustling softly across the area, a gentle caress of the wind sent ruby locks brushing away from fair features as she began to set up her targets.

Training always left her with a sense of innate calm. With headphones in, she could forget the world; it would only be her and her targets, allowing her to forget all her worries; all her pain. Even if it was only for a little while. Turning her playlist on, she turned her attention inward and focused. Weapons in hands, she began; slowly. First position, fourth, fifth, seventh, guard. Each movement was faster than the last, and as the targets fell she didn't even break a sweat.

The final blow struck, she became aware of eyes watching her. Stowing her weapons on her back, she pulled her headphones from her ears and turned to face her observer. A surprised smile came to her lips at the sight, and she headed over to speak with them. "Mercury," she greeted. "Did you need the field?"

For a moment, he didn't answer, his eyes unwilling to meet her welcoming gaze. "No, I-" He paused, almost as if he were trying to gather his thoughts. "Look, I don't do this often so I'm not really an expert, but I wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?" Pyrrha echoed his words, a question on her lips. "What for?"

A frown passed over pale lips. "Look, we both know I was a bit of an ass when we talked."

"I interrupted you," she replied with a shrug. "You don't need to apologize to me."

"No, no." Mercury was quick to correct her. "I wasn't exactly doing anything important. I don't even read those things, really." He fell silent, eyes flicking up to meet hers for a moment before returning to the ground at his feet. "But I…took out some old frustrations out on you. That isn't right. It's also exactly what those frustrations were about, so I'm a hypocrite, too." Hands vaguely mimed waving pompoms. "Go me."

Now it was Pyrrha's turn to frown. "It's fine, really. But is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Her head tipped to one side a moment, regarding the other with some modicum of disbelief. "You don't sound okay."

He held up a hand to stop her. "Don't. I'm fine; promise. You don't need to fix every little problem you think you see."

"If I ignore it, then there is no guarantee that it will ever be fixed." Slender arms folded over her chest. "At least this way I know with certainty that everything will be alright."

Shaking his head, Mercury threw his hands in the air. "Fine, fine. Be a goody-two-shoes for all I care. It's not like you're a huntress in training or something."

That earned a pause from the red-head. "What does that have to do with caring about the people I know?"

Mercury crossed his arms, giving her a flat look. "Don't think you know me just because we've spoken all of three times."

"I don't know a lot," she admitted. "But I'd like to."

"You say that now."

"And I mean it."

That's because you don't know me. Trust me; if you did, you'd be eating those words."

"I don't believe that is the case."

"And you don't know me." He leaned against a nearby tree. "Hard to prove me wrong on that one, isn't it?"

"Only if you don't give me the chance to prove that I'm right," she countered.

"You don't really want that. You don't know it yet, but you don't."

"Try me."

"You are not going to give up on this, are you? Like, you're bound and determined to be my best friend or something." Silver locks fell in front of sharp grey eyes, only to be brushed aside moments later.

"I do want to be friends, yes. Is that such a terrible thing?"

"Oh definitely. Who wants anything like friends, ugh." A wry smile passed over hs lips, despite his callous tone.

It earned a soft giggle, though she did her best to keep it quiet. "See? We're getting along beautifully."

"There's not a whole lot of things around here that I'd call beautiful."

"Oh?" Idly, she shifted her gloves, casting her glance around the field. "The scenery is nice, at least."

Mercury shrugged, glancing around in kind. "Eh, true. But honestly, the nicest thing here is you. It's annoying. Stop it."

Another giggle, this one attempting to hide the embarrassed flush that threatened at her cheeks. "I'm nothing spectacular."

"You're still too nice. Makes you seem like you're up to something. Makes my nose itch." For emphasis, he reached up a hand to rub at the bridge of his nose.

"Up to something," she questioned with a grin. "Like what?"

"I don't know that," he bandied right back, his tone growing a little sharper. "All I know is that you look like you're trying so hard not to look shifty, that you look shifty."

"Sorry about that. Should I be less kind, go against my very nature to care about others?" A soft smile came to her lips as she watched him for his reaction.

"It certainly would be a whole lot less," he paused a moment, trying to find the right word. "Disconcerting."

"I still don't see what's so disconcerting to have someone care about you."

"Because people like you don't usually care about people like me."

She raised an eyebrow, her head cocking to one side. "There's no difference between us."

"If you really believe that," Mercury sighed softly, shaking his head. "You're more sheltered than I thought."

The red-head let out a soft breath of her own. "I didn't ask for this. The only difference is that everyone tries to make me into something I'm not."

"Everyone does that to everyone else. It doesn't matter whose big and whose small. The _difference_ is that you get to be…how many times Champion of the Mistral Tournament?" Steel eyes turned away. "While people like me get branded 'thug' and 'tramp'." Glancing up, he saw her eyes soften at his words and scoffed. "Look, I don't want your pity." Arms folded tighter across his chest as he turned his head away. "Didn't I say you'd eat those words?"

Pyrrha opened her mouth to speak, then thought better of it and closed it again. Rephrasing herself in her mind, she carefully picked her way through her next sentence. "I still want to know you, Mercury. That's not about to change."

Another sigh passed his lips, this one just sounding tired. "Maybe it should."

"We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

With a final scoff, Mercury threw his hands in the air with a call of "You're impossible" and stormed away.

She wanted to call after him, but for whatever reason, she kept herself quiet. And she continued that silence all the way back to the dorm room.


	4. Advice

"Yang, please remind me why I let you convince me that this was a good idea."

"Aw, come on, Weiss. It'll be fun! Right, Pyrrha?"

"Spending time with friends is always fun."

"See? Pyrrha knows what's up."

The three girls walked down the streets of Vale, chatting amicably, as they ever did. Eventually the resident red-head spoke up with a question. "Yang, you called this a 'girl's night'. Where is Blake?"

Yang's usual grin contorted into something that vaguely resembled a frown. "I couldn't pry her away from her books. Believe me, I tried. She needs to loosen up almost more than you two do."

Weiss scoffed at that. "I do not need to 'loosen up', Yang. I am perfectly fine."

"You have been a little more tense lately, Weiss," Pyrrha observed. "I think you could use the vacation from the campus."

"Pot, this is kettle calling," their blonde friend giggled at the two, causing them both to roll their eyes at her. "You've both been way to up tight lately. That's why we're here. But speaking of people who should be here…."

"Nora wanted to spend time with Ren," Pyrrha spoke to answer the unasked question. "She heard your plan and said she wanted to try and get Ren to lighten up as well."

"A noble endeavor," the blonde approved. "I wish her the best of luck."

"She's going to need it," Weiss agreed.

"You're one to talk, Miss Schnee," Yang goaded with a giggle. "You're just as bad!"

Pyrrha had to stifle a giggle of her own as she listened to her two friends banter back and forth. She had almost forgotten how nice it was go be around friends. "Alright, Miss Xiao Long, you've made your point."

"I have not even begun to point!"

Cue another stifled giggle. "So where are we off to, oh fearless leader?"

"Hey now. I'm not Ruby. Or Jaune. But anyway, we're going to window shop for a bit, and then go chill and people watch at my favorite club."

"Oh no you don't Yang Xiao Long." Weiss' high-pitched tone of disapproval rang through the street as she positioned herself right in front of her taller blonde compatriot, causing the girl to halt in mid-stride. "I am not setting foot in that filthy, sordid-"

"Woah woah woah, slow your roll, Princess." Yang held up both hands to silence her teammate. "First of all, Junior's is hardly 'filthy'. Second, it has the best music and the best non-alcoholic drinks."

"I wouldn't think you'd be allowed back inside, after the first time," Pyrrha noted, tipping her head at her friend.

"Eh, Junior and I have reached an understanding." The boxer placed her hands on Weiss' shoulders, easily lifting up the petite girl and setting her aside to continue on her way unobstructed. "Besides," she continued, ignoring her friend's indignant sputtering. "It's not like he could keep me out if he wanted to."

"With a slightly exasperated smile, Pyrrha followed after her, taking the still fuming Weiss by the arm to ensure she wouldn't be left behind.

It was just reaching dusk when the trio stolled into Junior's club. Yang was already humming along to whatever song happened to be playing. "Junior!" The blonde waved as she lef the other two to the bar and flopped onto a stool. "Hey, you."

"Blondie," he greeted, obviously a little wary of the girl. With good reason, Pyrrha mused to herself. "I see you brought company." With that, he turned his attention to the newcomers. "Welcome to The Black Bear Club. What can I get you ladies?"

Yang gave an over exaggerated gasp, a hand thudding to her chest. "You're not even going to ask me? I'm hurt Junior! Hurt I tell you!"

The man sighed softly, rolling his eyes at her theatrics. "I already know what you want, Blondie," he humored before returning to the other two.

Once drinks had been ordered and served, Pyrrha turned to her friends. "You know…today has been nice. Thank you, Yang."

The bruiser grinned and clapped a hand on the red-head's shoulder. "I knew you'd like it once you were out here. You seemed like you could use the break from everything."

Weiss spoke up from Pyrrha's other side. "You have been seeming slightly off these past few days. Is everything alright?"

The usually Invincible Girl shrugged, for the first time letting the weight she had been holding, off. "It's…complicated." The confusion on the other's faces urged her to continue. "You remember Mercury?"

"The guy you fought in training a few weeks back, right?"

"I'd hardly use the word 'fight', Yang. He forfeited, didn't he?"

Pyrrha nodded. "Yeah, him. Well, I-… I went to talk to him a few days ago. Something about the match didn't sit well with me. My curiosity got the better of me."

Yang perked up, feeling the gossip was about to begin. "What did he say?"

"Well, at first he was stand-offish. Almost downright confrontational. Very rude, to say the least."

"Sounds like your generic asshole" Yang commented, taking a swig from her glass.

"Although, I feel like there's a 'but' on the end of that sentence," Weiss chimed in.

"He came to see me the next day…to apologize for the way he was acting. And he-…" She paused, unsure whether or not to continue.

"What did he do," Her blonde companion urged on.

"He tried to convince me to stop trying to be friends with him. Said something about me regretting it if I ever got to know him."

The heiress frowned then, taking a small sip of her own drink before speaking. "Why would he do that?"

"Sounds like your typical 'bad boy' exterior if you ask me," came the reply from the blonde. "He's hiding something, make no mistake. I kind of want to know what."

"I don't care if he's hiding something. I just-…wish he'd give me a straight answer when I ask him something. He's always so…" She stopped, searching for the right word. "So, angry. It's a little worrying."

"You can't force it, Pyrrha." Weiss sighed softly. "If he doesn't want to talk, then there's nothing you can do."

"I know." She let the topic drop, and retreated into her mind as the two on either side began to banter back and forth about the best way to approach the situation. She wanted to talk to Mercury again, and she wanted him to talk to her. But she didn't want to force anything. She never was the kind of person to push an issue, especially when it hurt someone. With a soft sigh, Pyrrha drained her glass and set it on the bar. She wanted to help Mercury….

If only he would let her.


	5. Miscommunication

"…-What do you think?"

"I don't like it. He seems-"

"Shifty?"

"Yeah, that works."

"He's been a lot nicer to her when compared to how he treats everyone else."

Yang, Jaune, Ren, and Nora had been talking for a while in the Team JNPR dorm room. Jaune was pacing back and forth across the room, thinking. There was a lot of this that wasn't sitting well with him. "She did say something about him pushing her away, it first…"

The other blonde in the room let out a frustrated sigh. "Either way. I don't like this at all. Being curious about him is one thing. But these days-…"

"She's sounding a bit obsessed," Nora supplied from her place lounging across her bed.

Jaune cast his glance out the window for a moment before speaking again, his voice quieter now. "She's been spending a lot of time with him, too."

Yang tipped her head to one side, watching Jaune with a mix of confusion and concern. "Something wrong, Jaune?"

"Pyrrha's been late to practice a few times now. I'm starting to wonder if that's got something to do with it."

Ren raised a brow at that, lowering his book. "That isn't like her. Have you asked her about it?"

"Yeah, but she just gets cagey about it. She's never mentioned him, though…"

Nobody heard the soft click of the door as Pyrrha closed it. She had heard more than enough. Did her team not trust her? Obsessed, really? She folded her arms across her chest, hands taking hold of her sleeves as she walked away down the hallway. A door slammed open just as she turned the corner, but she paid no mind to it. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she ran straight into someone. "Oh. Sorry," she muttered quickly, trying to move around them now. But when the other person spoke, she stopped.

"What's the rush, Glamazon?"

Pyrrha raised her gaze to wind up face to face with a rather malcontent Mercury. She took a step back and lowered her gaze again, not wanting to show that she was upset. "Oh..! I'm sorry, Mercury, I just-…" Her already quavering voice caught in her throat, and she fell silent, fingers gripping tighter on her sleeves.

For just an instant, a look of concern flickered to the surface of the disquiet. "Hey…what's wrong?"

"N-nothing. I just-..." Pyrrha shook her head, still refusing to meet his gaze.

"Don't give me that," he countered. "I haven't known you long, but bleary eyes are usually a sign of sadness. What's wrong, Pyrrha?"

Her head rose slightly, but Emerald hues still refused to meet steel. "My team, they-… They were talking about me. Didn't know that I was listening and-…"

"They were talking about you," Mercury echoed quietly, his face losing some of that discontent. At her nod, he pressed for a little more detail. "What did they say?"

"They were just worried, I think," she began, automatically defending her friends. "But-… They were using words like 'obsessed', and I just-…." Once again her voice caught, stopping her sentence in its tracks. Hands rubbed at her upper arms as she tried to steady herself.

"Hey, hey..!" A comforting hand reached out, finding its way to her shoulder. "If you don't want to talk about it, I'm not about to force you." There was a brief pause as Mercury made a split second decision. Moving quickly, he placed himself at her side, his arm moving to rest across her shoulders. "Here. Why don't you come with me," he offered, a small smile doing its best to keep the other feelings hidden behind it. "I was going-…well, I wasn't sure. But suffice it to say, I have my own reasons for wanting to blow off steam."

Pyrrha nodded softly, leaning into the comforting embrace as he began to lead her away. At least this would allow her to forget about her sadness for a brief moment, right?


End file.
